Making Cents in Public Schools: Positive and Negative Campaigning in K-12 School Finance Elections

Levine, Elliott

Journal of School Public Relations, v26 n3 p170-190 Sum 2005

School administrators are increasingly facing concerted opposition to budget and bond referenda. Often, opponents deploy negative campaigning to advance their intentions; that is, they disseminate misinformation in an effort to dissuade voters from casting positive votes. This article compares and contrasts strategies used by proponents and opponents in one school system. The purpose is to exhibit that the quality of messages can have a definite influence on election outcomes. (Contains 1 figure.)